EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The number of people with handgun permits in Indiana shot up in recent years. About 1 in 6 adult Hoosiers now have a handgun permit — up from 1 in 10 in 2012.

The C&P analyzed Indiana State Police's 2017 firearms licensing statistics, which it released this month.

The state issued fewer handgun permits in 2017 than in 2016 in Indiana, but permits have shot up in the last five years, especially for women.

Handgun permits are down from 2016

To carry a handgun — concealed, openly or otherwise — in Indiana, a person has to have a license from the state.

Indiana State Police issued 72,061 new firearm licenses in 2017, which is down from 134,290 issued in 2016 — a 46 percent drop in the number of licenses issued.

There are 833,614 active firearm licenses issued by the state right now. There are variables such as people with licenses who don't live in the state anymore, but that means about 1 in every 6 adult Hoosiers has a firearms license that allows them to legally carry a handgun.

There are approximately 142,000 people over 18 in Vanderburgh County. As of the beginning of this year, 21,967 of them had licenses to carry handguns.

Down from 2016, but shot up in the last several years

Since 2012, the number of handgun licenses issued in the state has gone up 75 percent. There are 358,824 more active handgun licenses now than in 2012.

In the last six years, the biggest applicant spikes came in 2013 and 2016:

2017: 72,061

2016: 134,290

2015: 77,571

2014: 75,627

2013: 116,059

2012: 63,970

A Statehouse bill that would have done away with handgun permits was mostly scrapped this week, but a version would still ease back on licensing barriers, like getting rid of the fees to get a permit. The Indiana House Public Policy Committee approved the bill 12-1.

Getting rid of licensing fees means the state would lose about $13 million in revenue in 2019 and 2020, according to state estimates.

The original proposal was to do away with permitting outright but was shot down quickly in the committee hearing.

More women continue to carry

(Photo: Getty Images)

More and more women are licensed to carry handguns in Indiana.

In the last six years, the number of women with active handgun permits more than doubled, from 92,860 in 2012 to 223,596 in 2017.

In Dubois and Decatur counties, the number of women with the licenses tripled in that same time.

For Vanderburgh County, there are 5,986 women with active handgun permits — a jump of 146 percent since 2012.

While the share of women with gun permits increased, it's like one bullet in an entire magazine. Men hold 3 out of 4 handgun permits in Indiana.